Staining Concrete

On Facebook, I had posted a picture of the porch.

Mom has already started decorating the porches. It is premature, but it does help to make it look like we have already moved in. A couple of you noticed the stained concrete, and I said I'd share the process.

We used a semi-transparent stain rather than a solid paint like we used on our previous porch. The hardest part was choosing a color.

We used Behr in the color Loden. It turned out perfect.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/BEHR-Premium-1-gal-STC-22-Loden-Semi-Transparent-Concrete-Stain-85001/203939946

For the front porch, Mom just used a roller and rolled the stain on. This did create some roller marks and you had to work fast. Once a drop hit, it was there for good.

The directions said to use a sprayer and we had bought one, but Mom had never used one and didn't want to. I then used it for the back porch. Getting the hang of the sprayer was tricky. For one, I was doing it in extreme heat, so it was hard to spread. The hot concrete just soaked it up.

I did small sections at a time. I had to move so fast because of the heat. I eventually did the other porches at night and early morning before the heat and it was SO MUCH EASIER. I actually had to let the stain sit before spreading it.

Mom's porch was the last and I had perfected my technique.

You're suppose to make small circular motions. When I first got started, I forgot but quickly remembered after it was too late. The below picture is the result of non circles.

I really am glad that we decided to stain the concrete. With the clay that we have here, we were bound to get muddy prints all over the place.

Here's a video Mom took of me with the sprayer and roller. This is how fast I had to be in the direct sunlight.

Happy Staining of your own!

Concrete Flatwork

The concrete flatwork has been spread out over many days.

We started with filling in the porches. This had to be done before the columns could be installed.

Next up, was the large driveway. This was done in four sections. It has been so hot, and we only have two guys working, that the concrete would dry too fast. I would have preferred more guys on the job, but it’s a lesson learned.

Next up was the sidewalk. I made a funky shape for the sidewalk that leads to Mom’s porch. It breaks it up from the normal.

The front walkway was poured on a separate day. It starts narrow, but then opens up as you approach the house. This allows the stairs that lead down to be wide and match the width of the front door.

We had to replace two sections of cracked sidewalk. These were cracked before we began construction and weren’t bad cracks. But we’ve been told the City Engineering Department will do an inspection and ave us repair it.

The back “courtyard” is raised and I love it! To get down into the yard, there will be steps that go all the way across the curve. We needed to create a footer for the steps. Each time we used a curve, the form was made from baseboard remnants. They were easy to bend.

We also made pads for the HVAC units. One will be behind our fence line, but the other is on the side of the house everyone will see, so we have to create a screen. This meant the pad had to be larger. The code requires so much space on sides of the HVAC unit.

Our water shut-off valve was in the way, so we had the plumber come move it. Luckily, he is prompt.

We didn’t do anything fancy for our concrete. I did request a certain pattern for the walkways, but it wasn’t done. Then when they asked, they said they’d have to buy a special tool, but they were an hour away from pouring. I ended up saying, “forget it.”

I did learn many things about the grading and fault lines with regards to concrete.

Our back patio was raised so that we have virtually no step into the house.

And protruding corners are where concrete likes to crack, so you want to create a fault line to ease the pressure. Inverted corners are less prone.

We ran pipes underneath the concrete to allow the irrigation to go under walks and drives, downspout pipes and our cable company can run their line under the driveway easy.

It’s pretty cool we can drive on the driveway now. I still forget at times, but I am getting better at
remembering.

Foundation Complete - Day 35

This morning, it was like Christmas to come around the corner and see a big crane.

I still had frost on my windshield, and these guys were out there in below freezing temps.

At lunch time I came back out to bring the guys snacks and take more pictures.

They were almost done.

I stayed and chatted with Stanley while he worked. He and I have become buds.

As the concrete was being poured, the crew used a piece of wood to level it and spread it out.

Then Stanley would come back with the "swiffer" type tool to smooth out air bubbles and such.

As they poured concrete, they inserted the vertical rebar around the perimeter.

I didn't get to see them use the swirly things that polish the cement.

What's neat is Mom could see the crane from her house. She text me a picture.

Mom's house is in the same neighborhood, just on the opposite side.

It's so neat to realize that this stage of the process is complete!

We have a foundation!

I went back by tonight to see the finished product. You can see where the electric plugs just peep out of the concrete.

By tonight, the concrete was hard, but I wouldn't dare walk on it.

And as I left, the moon was on the rise.

What a wonderful day!